Cranford (novel)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Cranford is the best-known of Elizabeth Gaskell's novels.
It was first published in 1851 as a serial in the magazine Household Words which was edited by Charles Dickens.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The fictional town of Cranford is closely modeled on Knutsford in Cheshire, which Mrs Gaskell knew well. The book has little in the way of plot and is more a series of episodes in the lives of Mary Smith and her friends, Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two spinster sisters. The major event in the story is the return to Cranford of their long-lost brother, Peter.
